'Love Ever After' movie review: 'The Secret Ingredient'
Set in the high stakes realm of cooking reality television and filled with decadent baking sweetness, "The Secret Ingredient" (premiering Feb. 15 as part of the Hallmark Channel's Love Ever After) has fun playing in the realm of romance and reality TV - even if it strings along the "surprise" a bit too long.
In short: Small-town baker Kelly (Erin Cahill) reunites with her ex-fiance Andrew (Brendan Penny) after traveling to New York City to compete on a Valentine's Day cooking show.
The gimmick of "Ingredient" isn't merely that two former flames are competing against each other on a cooking show - it's that Kelly and Andrew don't know they are going head-to-head. And it's honestly the worst kept secret. The movie bends over backwards to concoct far-fetched reasons how and why Kelly and Andrew would be in the dark about competing in the show. It's a show like "Chopped" or "Iron Chef" - except, for some inexplicable reason, the contestants don't know the identities of their competition. It's plainly obvious that Kelly and Andrew are both competing on the same show, even well before the movie finally makes the big reveal.
"Ingredient" is a buoyant little romance that bobs along nicely, thanks mostly due the natural charm of Cahill and Penny. The film itself is so plot driven that it could have easily just swept the characters along. It's a bit of fun to see Kelly and Andrew cross paths years after not seeing each other for years. They act as if everything is just "water under the bridge" and it's hinted at that something happened to split the two - but it's clear that there's still some lingering feelings between the two.
Although Kelly is the main character, "Ingredient" doesn't give her much urgency to win the competition. The movie goes out of its way to demonstrate time and again that small-town baker Kelly isn't merely just a competent baker. She has fans from all over the country ordering her cakes and confections. This works to establish Kelly as a bona fide baker, however, it also lowers the stakes for her. The movie doesn't even try to make the case that Kelly has to win - it's almost as if just being on the show is enough for her. This is a bit of an odd choice because "Ingredient" clearly states that Andrew feels like he must win - it would literally change his life. "Ingredient" would be stronger if it gave Kelly similar incentive or stakes in winning the competition -- or at least in losing the competition. The ancillary b-plot involving the cafe owned by Kelly’s parents is not enough to balance out against Andrew’s urgency to win the contest.
Final verdict: The secret ingredient of "The Secret Ingredient" is supposed to be its "surprising" plot reveals - but the movie telegraphs its twists so plainly that its secret ingredients aren't secret enough.
Score: 3-out-of-5 chocolate hearts
“The Secret Ingredient” premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Feb. 15 as part of its “Love Ever After.” The movie is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes.
